"I have become more knowledgable about the World"

Children of the LRA

Current issues in the our world today include one that is specifically troubling: the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. The "LRA" is an army headed by Joseph Kony, a possessed man who is currently one of the most wanted men in Uganda and, in fact, all of Africa. The Ugandan government, supported by the United States government, have destroyed half of the mobile LRA. The LRA 'abducts' children where ever they go as a way to build their army. Those who resist are killed. This frightening issue is a nightmare to most Ugandan children who take many precautions that interrupt their lives, such as migrating miles to a bus station so that they can sleep in a safe place away from the LRA.


Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

That isn't the only thing that has been an issue in the past century. For example, in the early 1900s, WWI started in Europe as a result of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. A lot of good came out of the war, but much more bad. In this war, eight and a half million people died, and almost three times that number were wounded. However, many things were invented such as face plates (today we have plastic surgery), fighter planes, and other things that are the basis of what we use today. During this time period, there were many major trends concerning governments around the world. For example, Communism, Fascism, Nazism emerged in this century. Eras in this century included the New Imperialism, which was the time period from 1880-1914, where Europe scrambled to gain more territory.


3rd World Countries

On a different note, have you ever wondered why there are 3rd world countries in the world today? Before my high school career began, I would have answered that it was because some countries had smarter people. Now I see that that is an ignorant statement due to a lack of knowledge of the geography of the world. Did you know that there are only 14 domesticated species of animals in today's world? 13 of them are native to the Eurasia region, explaining why they modernized so quickly in comparison to Africa or the Americas. The same thing applied with plants in this region: crops such as wheat and barley prevailed over crops like tara roots from third world countries. Not only was wheat easy to harvest, but it could be stored for a long time unlike tara roots, which could only be stored for about a week. This can easily explain why some regions of the world developed quicker than others. I also realized that race really doesn't exist. For example, what if I am half white and half black? Would you call me black or white? The answer is neither, because I would decide that. I did an activity where I had to guess the race of 16 different people. I only got 4 correct. This tells me that race doesn't mean anything.


Mt. Everest

Speaking of certain places on the Earth, people all over the world travel to different places such as Mt. Everest for several different reasons. One reason someone might go to Everest would be for self-pride. However, many people like to do it because they want to be the first to do something (i.e. first Spanish women). This is a very strong example of nationalism. Nationalism has been an important player throughout history. Your home country isn't just your birthplace; it is the place where your ideas have been formed and you have probably lived for all of your life. It shapes who you are and what you have become.

Japanese Culture

In Japan, you might be surprised to hear that the culture over there is so much different than the culture in the US. For example, in work meetings, it is completely acceptable to close your eyes. Also, here, to give a hug is warm and friendly. In Japan, that will make people very uncomfortable if you are not close to them. Also, you should not shake hands. Instead, you should bow. If you are a higher status or older than the person you are meeting, than you will not bow as deeply as the other person.